1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an irradiation apparatus, and more particularly to an irradiation device that irradiates a periphery of a host vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
A control system for a vehicle headlight, which prevents situations in which pedestrians and obstructions cannot be detected by causing a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) to emit pulsed light in synchronization with a shutter of a camera, is available in the related art (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-084237 (JP 2011-084237 A)).
An in-vehicle image capturing apparatus that synchronizes a shutter of a camera with illumination and shifts a lighting timing for each frame is also available (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-273299 (JP 2008-273299 A)).
Also available is an illumination apparatus that controls visible light emitting means such that respective small regions in front of a vehicle are irradiated to an illumination condition in which visibility in front of the vehicle is improved (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-90844 (JP 2009-90844 A)).
Also available is a vehicle headlight system which, when an object of attention is extracted from image frame data, selects a light distribution pattern with which glare can be suppressed in relation to the object of attention (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-051441 (JP 2011-051441 A)).
Furthermore, a vehicle headlight system that irradiates a region in which an object of interest exists with infrared light instead of visible light illumination is available (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-166652 (JP 2012-166652 A)).
However, the techniques disclosed in JP 2011-084237 A, JP 2011-051441 A, and JP 2012-166652 A may make it difficult for a driver to recognize a pedestrian visually since shielding is performed.
On the other hand, with the techniques disclosed in JP 2008-273299 A and JP 2009-90844 A, the pedestrian may be dazzled by uncomfortably bright light since shielding is not performed.